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Artitechture: The Organic Homes of Sunray Kelley

Artitechture = Art & Architecture

Sunray Kelley

The architecture of Sunray Kelley is Inspired by nature, resembling magical tree houses which might be inhabited by elves. Using round hobbit-like shapes provided by Mother Earth, he incorporates whole tree trunks, branches and found logs as framework, hunting the forests of his home in the Pacific Northwest for the perfect additions. Moss covers roofs, branches form arching banisters and tree trunks grace entranceways and inner doorways. He also recycles parts from abandoned homes, often reshaping or carving them for reuse. His predominant use of cob for the base of his building walls, is an organic and earth friendly material. Cob building gets its name from the Old English term for “lump,” which refers to the lumps of clay-rich soil that were mixed with straw and then stomped into place to create earthen walls. Sunray has also built beautiful “gypsy wagons” which are campers, like tiny homes on wheels.

While he was still in college, SunRay showed some of his blueprints to an older builder who replied, “Learn to use a hammer, boy, because no one but you is going to be able to build that.” His structures are timeless and rooted, as though they had sprouted from the forest floor, like a mushroom or seedling. The abode featured at the top of this post is actually built on a huge old redwood stump, giving the appearance of it’s own roots.

“It’s the love of the human form, too, and the soft subtleness of the body. When building a house, we are creating a shell for ourselves,or another body, which we operate from. So it seems natural to me that you would want that form to be soft and yielding as your personality. And I guess that’s basically the attraction to creating in the way, is that it does give a more formy feeling to it. When you feel a comfort in the space you’re in, a familiarity to form, whatever’s comfortable to you.” – Via an interview with Kelly at DavidSheen.com